


Walking In My Brother's Shoes

by scorbusrights



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, M/M, Potter Siblings, Scorbus, ccfandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-11-26 05:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20925167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorbusrights/pseuds/scorbusrights
Summary: When Albus helps James with practising potions for his N.E.W.T.'s something goes terribly wrong.They then find themselves having to figure out what it's like walking in their brother's shoes.





	1. Chapter 1

'James, is this really necessary?' Albus moans as he follows James into the classroom. He could have been sitting in his dorm together with Scorpius. His heart skips a beat at the thought of the tall blonde boy that will be waiting in the dorm when he gets back from helping out James.

'Yes, this is necessary. Have you ever heard that joke about the Gryffindor and the Slytherin walking into a classroom?' James says as he looks at Albus over his shoulder.

'No, but I'm sure it won't end well,' Albus mumbles as he takes place on one of the stools at the table. Looking at his big brother gathering ingredients and setting up a cauldron on the table. 

'I don't think so either,' James says, smirking at Albus. 'But I sure hope it does because I need to pass my N.E.W.T.'s and I need **your** help with that. You're the Potions Wonderboy, so please just help me with this Albus.' 

Albus sighs dramatically as he pushes himself of the stool, reading from James' book what they need for the potion. 'You're going to have to measure them really carefully, alright? That might just be one of the most important parts of making a potion. You get the measurements wrong, you might as well just go home and become a delivery guy because you won't be passing your Potions N.E.W.T.' James looks at him, his lips a thin line. 'I'm just saying, take your time, okay? Don't hurry yourself. If you do this right, that potion will be easy.'

Albus watches his brother measure the ingredients one by one, giving him some tips on how to best cut some of them or which ingredients he should be extra careful with. 'You don't want your potion to blow up in your face because you didn't handle them with care,' he says as he gives James an encouraging smile. 'You're doing great,' he says, a big smile on his face when James starts adding the ingredients to the potion. James huffs as he wipes his forehead, sweating from the heat coming off the cauldron.

'It's almost finished,' James mumbles as he grabs the last few ingredients left. Albus perks up, his brother's voice startling him as he felt himself drift off. 'Just these ones and then-' 

'Wait!' Albus yells out and James' hands freeze mid-air. 'You need to squash those first, James.'

'No, I don't. It doesn't say that in the book,' James points at the book, frowning at his little brother.

'It's common knowledge that you need to squash them first before you add them to a potion, James. How many years have you been taking Potions class now?' Albus jumps up from his stool oppose James as he walks to the supply closet to get James a big knife. As he walks back and looks at the table, there's no ingredients left. James is looking at Albus as Albus looks back at him with a blank expression, the knife in his hand. 'Are you serious?'

'It doesn't say that in the book, Albus.'

Albus takes a deep breath and counts to ten as he holds it in before exhaling. 'James. I just told you-'

'Put down the knife, Albus,' James says, an amused smile on his face.

'You find this amusing?' Albus raises his eyebrows and points at the cauldron using the knife. 'James, do you know what can happen if you mess up one ingredient? All it takes is one wrong ingredient or one little mistake in measurements or preparation for it to go south.'

'I guess we will find out when we test the potion,' James shrugs as he looks back at the cauldron.

'Oh no!' Albus called out to him. 'No, no, no! I am **not** testing that,' he uses the knife to point at the cauldron again, 'potion! No way in hell.'

'Albus, I told you to put down the knife. A knife is no toy for a child,' James grabs the knife from Albus' hand and puts it down on the table. 'Besides, it didn't say anywhere in the book that we were supposed to squash it. So don't be such a wimp and come taste this potion with your big brother.'

'I'm not-' James holds out a cup, steam is rising from the cup and disappears into the air, cutting Albus off.

'Are you scared, Albus Severus Potter?' he pouts at Albus while pretending to cry. 'Is Albus Severus Potter scared of drinking a little potion?'

Albus grits his teeth and if looks could kill, James would have been lying on this floor right now. He grabs the cup from James, careful not to spill anything. He was not about to let his brother ridicule him and he was not about to give his brother another reason to tease him for the upcoming weeks. With his jaw clenched he brings the cup to his lips, quietly praying to god to please spare him from the worst. James lifts his own cup up in the air, yelling _cheers_, before both boys poor the inside of the cup into their mouths. Albus feels a chill run down his spine as the potion makes its way down his throat into his stomach. He burps as he puts the cup down, holding a hand to his mouth.

'James, I'm not so sure if we are supposed to feel this way,' he manages to get out before gagging, a wave of nausea coming up. He runs towards the sink, followed by his brother.

'I guess the joke did not end well,' James whispers before he falls to the ground, unconscious.

'James!' Albus calls out, he lets himself fall to the ground next to his brother. Sweat is dripping down his forehead as he takes his brother's face in his hands. 'James, wake up!' he calls out. 'James, wake-' but before he can finish his sentence, everything fades to black.

* * *

James moans as he starts to wake up again. He stretches his limbs before rubbing his painful neck with his hand. He pushes himself off the concrete floor until he's sitting up straight. He opens his eyes and looks around the room. He's still in the Potions classroom. The cauldron is up on the table, wisps of smoke still coming off the potion in it. The potion he drank. He remembers the nausea and how the world was spinning. He runs a hand through his hair, but something's off. He looks down at his hands and then notices his robes. His _green_ robes. Slytherin robes? How the hell did he get into Slytherin robes and why are his hands so small? He looks around the classroom, looking for his little brother. His eyes find someone else laying on the floor next to him.

'Albus?' he whispers, his voice sounds hoarse, different. He gets on his hands and knees, nearly falling face forward when he has to lean over further to put his hands to the ground. He shuffles across the floor and turns the person next to him on his back. Eyes open as they look back in his and-

Both boys scream as they look at each other, or should they say as they look at themselves. James pushes the other person away as he tumbles backwards. It's not Albus looking back at him, it's his own face looking back at him. He's looking at himself.

'What the fuck,' the other person whispers.

'Albus, is that you?' he whispers as he dares to take a closer look again.

'Yes, it's me! Of course it's me, who else did you drag into drinking this stupid potion with you?'

'Why the fuck am I looking at my own face?' James yells as he crosses the floor towards Albus. He grabs his head and examines it. The exact same eyes, the exact same nose, his face, his robes, everything was James.

'Why are **you** looking at your own face?' Albus yells back at him. 'Why am I looking at my own face?'

James' expression turns blank as the brothers look at each other. They scream again as they scramble up from the ground, running towards the item closest to them that shows them their reflection. James grabs the knife that's still on the table and turns the blade sideways so he can see his own reflection. Or should he say, Albus' reflection.

'I fucking told you we should have squashed it!' Albus yells at his brother, startled by the sound of James' loud voice coming out of his mouth. He never realized just how much higher his own voice was compared to James.

'Well, if we're being literal, it came out of this mouth,' James says as he points at his mouth.

'James, this is NOT the time to joke around!' he takes big steps towards James, swaying as he does. James' limbs being much longer than his. Albus was quite tiny compared to his big brother, Scorpius used to say. Scorpius. 'We need to reverse this NOW.'

'Well, you're the Potions expert. Reverse this,' James says, scrunching his nose at the sound of Albus' voice. He stares back at his reflection again, trying to get Albus' messy hair under control.

'That's no use,' Albus mumbles as he starts reading through the pages of James' Potions book. 'I gave up on that years ago. It has a life of its own and does whatever it wants. You'll have to learn to deal with that right now,' he looks up at his brother again. 'Can you at least try to be of some use and help me look for some other Potion books?'

James lets out an exasperated sigh as he walks to the bookshelves in the corner of the classroom. He reads the titles of the first few shelves, grabbing some of the books and hugging them to his chest.

'Erm, Albus?' he calls out to his brother. 'I'm too small. I mean _you're_ too small. Some help please?'

Albus looks up, finding his brother standing on his tippy toes. Trying to read the titles of the books on the top shelf.

'Are you kidding me?' Albus huffs and walks over to him. He hands some books to James that he thinks will be useful in their search, his face disappearing behind the stack. 'Get to work.'

* * *

James has his head in his hand while browsing through the book in front of him. Albus is pacing the floor as he quickly reads through the Potion books, trying to find a solution to whatever caused them to switch bodies. A knock on the door startles both boys. Albus stops and James perks up. The door opens and the face of a boy with blonde hair appears around the corner.

'Scorpius,' Albus says, his voice cracking. 'What are you doing here?'

'It's already pretty late and I was just wondering what was taking so long. So I thought I'd come down to check on you two. See if I could be of any help to you,' Scorpius answers as he steps into the classroom, closing the door again behind him.

Albus' heart skips a beat as he sees the tall, blonde boy smiling at him. For just a moment he forgets everything that happened and it's just Scorpius and him. Scorpius looks at both brothers and as the silence between them stretches, Albus can see him growing nervous. His smile falters as his hands start twitching at his sides. Albus has to keep himself from walking over to him, to take his hands in his and hold them until they stop twitching.

'James, are you okay?' Scorpius breaks through the silence.

'Yes,' James answers him. Resulting in a strange look from Scorpius. His brows are furrowed and he looks from Albus to James.

'I'm glad you're okay, Albus. But I was asking James,' he points at Albus still standing completely still, his eyes locked on Scorpius. 'He has been looking at me like he's going to jump me, ever since I entered the classroom and I must say it's kind of making me nervous.' Scorpius walks over to the table that James is sitting at, taking one of the stools and sitting down.

'Oh!' Albus hits himself in the forehead as he realizes that he's still in James' body, whenever Scorpius now looks at him, he sees James. Understanding why Scorpius got confused. 'I'm not-' but James cuts him of.

'James is alright,' James says and he gestures for Albus to stay quiet. 'There's just a lot on his mind and he's been studying really hard for the past couple of days. I think he just needs some sleep, right James?' he puts emphasis on his own name.

Albus shakes his head at James. He is not about to lie to Scorpius about what has happened, that his brother is now inside of his body and he's inside of his brother's. He pinches his nose bridge with his index finger and thumb. He should have never agreed to drinking that potion. He should have never let his brother dare him into actually drinking it.

'Scorpius,' James says as he averts his eyes from his brother to the boy sitting in front of him. 'Would it be alright if I talk to my brother a bit? I will meet you back in the common room, okay?'

Scorpius nods as he gets up from the stool. 'Yes, of course. I'll see you in a bit.' He smiles at both brothers and walks out of the classroom.

Albus storms towards James as soon as the door closes. 'I am NOT going to lie to Scorpius about this, James. This is your fault!'

'I know it's my fault,' James murmurs, shrinking in himself. 'I know it is and I'm sorry. But please Albus, please just play along for one night? I promise we will look further for a solution to this problem tomorrow. We shouldn't even be in here,' he waves at the empty classroom. 'We're going to be in so much trouble if they find out we've been here using these ingredients and we're going to be in even more trouble if they find out we - I messed up this bad. I really don't need all that added to the stress of the N.E.W.T.'s. Just _please_, Albus. One night,' James looks up at his brother.

Albus lets out an exasperated sigh before turning around, running his hand through his hair. Well, James' hair, _this is so complicated_, Albus thinks to himself. He looks back at his brother, his arms around his body, the pleading look in his eyes. He has never seen him so vulnerable,_ is this what his parents saw when Albus did something bad and felt incredible guilty afterwards when he was about to get scolded by them?_ He throws his hands up in the air, giving in. 'Alright!' James' face lights up as a smile breaks through the look of guilt. 'One night, James. One night. If we don't manage to fix this tomorrow, I'm telling Scorpius.'

James jumps up and throws himself at his brother. 'Thank you so much, Albus. I promise I'll make this up to you,' he looks up at his brother. 'So, what's it like up there? A whole new world?' Albus groans as he pushes James' face away from him.

'I can't believe you're making me go to the bloody Gryffindor common room,' Albus complains as he fixes the Gryffindor robe around his shoulder. 'I swear to god if you do anything to embarrass me or do anything ridiculous, I will make your life miserable.'

'Ah, look at you,' James pinches his cheek. 'Acting all tough now that you're bigger than me. Go find someone your own size to threaten.'

'I'm serious, James. People are already out there to get me. Please, don't make it any worse.'

James nods. 'I promise. We'll just tell the people that speak to us that we're tired. School has been a lot and we need some sleep. Try to avoid speaking to people and just head to bed.'

'I can't believe you're making me lie to Scorpius,' Albus whispers.

'You can't even speak to him. You'll be up in the Gryffindor common room and he's in the Slytherin common room.'

Albus balls his hands up into fists and takes in a deep breath. Trying to stop his heart from beating as fast as it does now, just thinking about not being in the dorm with Scorpius. 'Just, please, look out for him? Do you promise me? Don't say anything stupid, don't do anything stupid and make sure he's okay?'

James holds his hand up. 'Scout's honor!' he yells and bows his head at Albus. 'I will make it my sworn duty to help and protect little Malfoy with my life-' a frown appears on his face. 'Your life? Like what happens if I do have to use my life to do that. Will I die or will you die. I mean it's _your_ body but _I'm _inside of it, but-'

'James!' Albus cuts him off, pinching his arm. He flinches and looks at Albus, accusingly. 'You'll have to tell me the password to the Gryffindor common room and then we'll get going.'

* * *

Albus climbs through the portrait hole that leads to the Gryffindor common room. In his head he repeats the plan. Tell the people that speak to him that he's tired. Tell them he needs sleep. Then head to bed until the morning comes and he can figure out what to do together with James. Easy enough. He looks around, the Gryffindor common room is entirely different to the Slytherin common room. This one seems lighter, the red and golden colors make the room brighter and warmer oppose to the colder and darker Slytherin common room. He takes in a deep breath as he walks through the mass of people celebrating the weekend. He keeps his head low, damning James' height at this moment.

'Hey James!' a voice calls out to him through the common room and Albus cringes.

He might be able to act like he didn't hear the voice and head up to his dorm if he just keeps walking. He clenches his jaws a he takes big strider through the crowd, the spiraling staircase in his sight. But his path gets blocked and when he looks up a girl with bright green eyes looks at him. A wide smile spread across her face.

'We were already wondering where you were,' she says as she flashes him another smile.

'I was studying for the N.E.W.T.'s with my little brother,' he answers her, forcing a smile on his face to answer hers. 'It has been a long day. Thank you for this,' he holds up the cup. 'But I think I'm going to head to bed.' He tries to move around her but she grabs his arm, pushing him back in place. Her fingers linger on his arm, brushing up his upper arm until it rests on his shoulder.

'Come on, James. Just one game of chess,' she says as she leans in closer to Albus. Her warm breath tickles his skin, telling him she's way too close for his liking. He tries to keep a smile on his face, but he can feel the panic rising from the depths of his stomach. Flirting. She's flirting with him and Albus has absolutely no idea what to do. He has never been good at social situations, having to make conversation with strangers. It makes him nervous and the fact that he has to pretend to be someone else, James of all people, makes it even worse.

'Are you flirting with me?' the words have already left his mouth before he realizes what he's asking.

The girl looks a bit taken aback before the smile returns to her face again. Her cheeks turning red from blushing. 'What if I am?'

'I'm- I just-' he stumbles on his words as he tries to form a complete sentence. 'Then I'm very sorry. I have to go!' he blurts out and pushes past her. He bumps into people and he mumbles out apologies, but doesn't slow down. He gasps for air when he closes the door to James' dorm behind him. He slumps down against the door, his head between his knees as he tries to control his breathing again. A deep breath in, and out, in and out and in and out. Normally he'd have Scorpius to help him with these kind of situations, but he's alone now. He looks for James' suitcase and finds the one with his initials on it. He grabs his pajama's and quietly prays to god that he will be able to change clothes with his eyes closed, without hurting himself in the progress.

* * *

James groans as he feels himself waking up, his body growing rigid at he notices the presence of someone else. There's an arm around his waist and the sound of peaceful breathing next to him. He whips his head around, and his eyes find the person laying next to him. He yells out in surprise, trying to climb out of bed. But his feet get stuck in the blanket that's been wrapped around him and the person next to him and with a loud thud he lands on the wooden floor of the common room.

'Albus?' a sleepy voice calls out. Someone opens the curtains and Scorpius face appears, looking down at James, spread across the floor. 'Albus?'

'I'm not-' he catches himself as he softly curses, of course he's Albus. 'What are you doing in Al- in my bed?'

'What do you mean? We always sleep together. Are you okay?' Scorpius' face is etched with worry as he climbs out of bed and kneels down next to him. 'Were you having another nightmare?'

'I'm okay,' James huffs as he dodges Scorpius hand that's reaching for his face. He quickly scrambles up from the ground, straightening his pajama's. 'I didn't have a nightmare. I just got startled. By you.'

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to,' Scorpius whispers and he stands up as well. His blonde hair is messy and dark circles surround his eyes.

'It's not your fault,' James says. 'Go back to sleep, okay? I'm just going to go and grab a glass of water, okay? You know what they say, stay hydrated and that's what I need. Water. To hydrate,' James points at the bathroom. 'Eh, Are you okay?' he gently puts a hand on Scorpius' arm when he doesn't move.

'Yeah,' Scorpius nods, flashing him a smile. 'Yeah, I'm okay. I know you haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately. So don't stay up too long, okay?' he puts his hand on James' and squeezes it before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

James freezes in place. His mind is spinning as he's trying to process what is happening right here and now. Scorpius and Albus. Albus and Scorpius. _ALBUS AND SCORPIUS._ His eyes grow wide as the realization dawns on him. All the touching between Albus and Scorpius. All those looks they give each other, the adoration he sees in Albus' eyes every time he speaks of Scorpius. The fact that he had made James promise to look after Scorpius, making sure nothing bad happens. Scorpius in Albus' bed. _'What do you mean? We always sleep together,' _Scorpius had said to James when he asked why he was in Albus' bed.

'They're dating,' James gasps as he hears himself say it out loud.

Scorpius looks back at him. 'Who are you talking about?'

'You and Albus. I mean, me and you. We're dating?' it comes out as more of a question so he quickly tries to recover himself again. 'We're dating.'

'Albus, we've been dating for months now. What are you talking about?' Scorpius frowns. 'Are you sure you're okay?'

'Yes!' James says. 'Yes, I'm okay.' He walks towards Scorpius, pushing him towards the bed. 'It's time for you to get some sleep, you look like you could use that.' Scorpius lets him push him down onto the bed. James grabs the blanket, pulls it over Scorpius and tucks it in around his shoulder, just like his mother used to do to him when he was little. Scorpius looks up at James, his eyes full of adoration. Beaming at what he thinks is his boyfriend. 'Okay, good. All tucked in. Ready for bed,' James mumbles. He gives Scorpius an awkward pat on his head which makes him giggle. 'Now sleep.' He wants to turn around, but Scorpius' voice stops him in his track.

'You sure are weird sometimes,' Scorpius chuckles sleepily. 'But that's why I love you.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus has to pretend to be James. James has to pretend to be Albus. Meanwhile they have to find a solution to their problem and deal with Quidditch, boyfriends and social situations.

Albus takes place at the end of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. He takes a big mug, pouring coffee in it. With the steaming mug warming his hands, he stares at a dark spot on the wooden table. He had woken up last night, all shaken up and confused because he didn't recognize the room he was in. But also because his bed was cold, empty without Scorpius next to him. A sigh leaves his lips as he closes his eyes for a moment, breathing in the smell of fresh coffee. He couldn't sleep anymore after waking up alone, it felt wrong. He was scared that if he fell asleep, nightmares would return because Scorpius wasn't there to chase them away.

'Hey there,' a soft voice pulled him back to reality. 'Enjoying your morning coffee?'

Scorpius is sitting right in front of Albus. 'Scorpius!' he calls out, spilling coffee over himself. 'Ow!'

Scorpius hands a tissue he's conjured with his wand and gives it to Albus. Their hands slightly touch and sparks of electricity shoot up through Albus' entire arm, to his chest. His chest that's aching for Scorpius' touch. He can feel his face heat up and he quickly looks down, dabbing at the coffee stain on his red Gryffindor jumper. He curses when the stain only grows.

'Here. Let me help you!' Scorpius jumps up from the table and walks around the end. He takes place next to Albus, his legs on either side of the bench as he takes out his wand again. Albus looks at his face, a sad smile on his face because he isn't able to stretch his hands and straighten the crinkles on his face that his concentrated frown cause. The face he always pulls when he's about to cast a spell. He whispers and the coffee stain disappears. He looks up at Albus, beaming at his successful spell.

'Thanks Scor.. pius!' he quickly catches himself using a nickname James has never used for him. Albus returns Scorpius' smile with an even bigger one. But it disappears when he sees the dark circles under his boyfriend's eyes. His hand twitches as he quickly stops himself from reaching over to gently stroke his cheek. 'Are you okay?'

Scorpius nods. 'Just tired,' he says as he stiffles a yawn. 'Crappy night.'

'How come? If you want to tell me about it of course, no pressure whatsoever!'

'I don't know,' Scorpius says as he reaches for a plate on the table, loading it with some toast and eggs. 'I just had this weird feeling, like the one you have when you feel like something bad it about to happen or something's just off. I woke up in the middle of the night because of Albus. He fell out of bed, acting really weird.'

Albus' eyes had grown wide, his jaw clenched and for a moment he forgot how to breath. Due to the chaos of the potion, Albus had forgotten about one thing. One incredibly important thing. His relationship with Scorpius. The fact that Scorpius always crawls into Albus' bed to cuddle, to help each other through the long nights. Even in their fifth year they still did that. Their nightmares had become less, especially compared to how bad they were in their fourth year. But sometimes Albus still caught himself waking up, all sweaty and out of breath because of a horrible dream. The same goes for Scorpius. He fiddles with his hands, trying to keep down the coffee he drank already. 'How's eh.. Albus now?'

Scorpius shrugs as he swallows his mouthful of toast. 'He told me to go ahead. He had overslept and said he'd be down here as soon as possible. Oh there he is!'

James sits down oppose Albus and Scorpius. He yawns as he rubs his eyes sleepily, greeting his brother and Scorpius.

'You look.. horrible,' Albus says as he looks at his tired face, _his_ tired face. Wondering if he always looks like that when he gets out of bed. He can see James has tried to make something out of his messy hair, but it didn't work. He looks up at Albus, his eyes narrowed and his lips in a thin line.

'You're the worst brother to ever brother,' he hisses at him and Albus can't help but chuckle at the anger in his face. He looks at Albus' red Gryffindor jumper, to the Gryffindor robes to his hair. His messy hair. 'James, can I talk to you for a moment?' He smiles at Scorpius. 'We'll be right back!'

Scorpius nods at James and he flashes Albus a smile which makes his heart skip a beat. The brothers head outside of the Great Hall before James pulls Albus' into an empty corridor.

'What the hell, Albus?' James hisses, his eyes wild as he throws his hands up in the air.

'I'm sorry, I should have told you about it earlier but-' Albus wrings his hands together as he looks down at them, but James cuts him off. He grabs Albus' head with both hands and starts running his hand through his hair.

'My hair is never this messy,' he hisses as he shoots Albus an angry look. 'I can't believe you didn't think to fix it at least a little bit before you head out of the Gryffindor common room.'

Albus scrunches up his nose, glaring at James when he pushes hands away. 'Stop doing that!'

'How do you do that?' James asks, his arms falling to his sides.

'Do what?' Albus voice is thick with annoyance.

'Make my face look _that_ ugly!' Albus makes a fist and hits him in the arm. 'Albus, this is my hair! So I get to do whatever I want with it and I'm _fixing_ it!' he grumbles and wants to reach for his face again, but Albus ducks out of his way. 'OH and thanks for the heads up little brother. It would have been great to know that you have been dating little Malfoy before you let me sleep in your dorm. Before I woke up to his arm around me, next to me in YOUR BED.'

Albus can feel his face flush and he's sure it's a bright red now. 'I'm sorry, James. I really am. I totally forgot about that due to all the chaos in the Potions classroom and the knowledge I'd have to go to the Gryffindor common room, where most of my bullies are. I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell all of you this summer, but I backed out of it every single time. I don't know why. I think I just got scared. Are you angry with me?'

James looks at his little brother, who's now avoiding every eye contact. His hands fidgeting and his head down. Even with James' height he looked small. Small and vulnerable. James lets out a sigh and puts his hand on Albus' shoulder. 'Of course I'm not angry. I mean I do get it, Scorpius is really great at cuddling.' Albus' eyes grow wide as he opens his mouth to say something, but James gestures for him to stay quiet. 'Listen, you do know that we all love you no matter what, right?' Albus slowly looks up, meeting James' eyes. 'You're my little brother, Albus. I will always love you. All I care about is that you're happy and if that's with that tall, blonde and incredibly awkward boy back at the Slytherin table, you go for it.' He runs his hands through Albus' hair and he screws up his face when he sees all the work he's put into fixing the hair, has been undone again. By himself.

'Thank you, James. That really means a lot,' an appreciative smile on Albus' face as he throws his arms around his brother. 'I do love you too, you know?'

'I know that,' James says as he pulls his little brother close, his head against his shoulder. 'But it does feel kind of weird to hug you and not quite reach above your shoulder. So let's just do this again when we have solved this problem, alright?'

Albus shakes his head as he chuckles. He steps back from his brother again, resting his hands on his hips. 'Alright. We need a plan. How about we ask our professor Ward if she has any experience with this? We'll just say it's something we have come across during our time studying for our exams.'

James nods while thinking. 'That could work, we could head to the classroom first. See if she's in there and otherwise we'll just go up to the teacher's room and ask for her there.'

'Hey there,' Scorpius voice startles both boys, causing them to jump. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you guys!' he quickly apologizes. 'What are you talking about?'

'Eh..' James looks at Albus. 'I just told James about us. About our relationship. That we're together. You and I.'

'Oh!' Scorpius looks surprised, but Albus can see some relieve in his eyes as well. He had wanted to be open about them for quite some time now, but he's been incredibly patient with Albus. Waiting for him to be ready to tell his family and never pushing him in any way. He loved him dearly for that.

'Yes and I'm incredibly happy for you, both of you!' Albus says as he gives the boys a thumbs up. 'Just don't be too touchy feely when you're around me please? It would only remind me of how lonely I am and I'm not sure if I can handle that without having had my morning coffee yet.'

Scorpius laughs as he wraps his arms around James' waist. James opens his mouth, but catches Albus' warning glance at him. He shakes his head and James knows he's telling him to let Scorpius. Albus would never . Albus clenches his jaw while looking at Scorpius hugging James, he had never wished to be himself as much as he did in that moment.

'Thank you, James. I really appreciate that. I promise I'll try to keep it on a low when you're around,' he turns to Albus. 'I was just coming over to tell you that I'm going back to the dorm to get my bag and head to the library to study,' Scorpius says and James smiles at him. 'Can't wait for our own study session tonight,' he then adds. Albus can tell James was the only one meant to hear that, but Scorpius never really mastered the ability of whispering. He presses a soft kiss to James' cheek before he smiles warmly at Albus. 'Will I see you at dinner?' Albus nods slowly, his voice is somewhere stuck in his throat and he can't find it to answer him out loud.

As Scorpius turns around and walks away, James turns to Albus, grabbing his arm. 'If studying is some kind of code for sex then I swear to god, Albus, I will kill you.'

Albus is still staring at the place where Scorpius disappeared. A disgusted look on his face, finally finding his voice again. He looks back at James, shooting daggers from his eyes. 'I'm only saying this once James, don't you dare touch him or I will have your head.'

'Then we better go and figure this mess out. Right. NOW!' James yells as both boys start to run towards the Dungeons to find their Potion's professor.

* * *

Albus and James walk out of the Dungeons, defeated. Professor Ward had listened to them explain that they had come across this story about two people switching bodies and were wondering if there was any potion that would be able to undo that. She was huffing as she paced through her classroom, from one side to the other, checking her supplies and writing things down as she listened. She then interrupted the boys, telling them that students had broken into her classroom yesterday and had touched her stash of ingredients and supplies. Her voice angry and threatening as she mumbled to herself that, for the sake of those students, she does not find out who did it. Albus and James had shared a look of horror as they listened to hear mumbling some more threats and unkind things before she turned to them again, a smile on her face. 'I'm sorry but I don't think I can help you boys out,' she had told them and they'd turn around as fast as they could, wanting out of the classroom as soon as possible. After that they had head to the library, careful to find a table in the front and to not be noticed by a studying Scorpius.

'So now what?' Albus asks James as he stretches his arms and back. 'We haven't found anything yet and it's getting quite late, James.'

'I don't know, Albus.' James has his head in his hands as he swears under his breath. 'I don't know what to do anymore. We have searched every bookshelf and it's almost dinnertime. Where else can we look?'

'The Restricted Section,' Albus replies. 'But we don't know what book we're looking for so we need to be able to look around. We can't sneak into it so we'll have to get a permission slip from one of the teachers.'

'You'll have to do that,' James says as he looks up at Albus. 'This face isn't quite the favorite to a lot of our teachers,' he points at Albus' face. 'But me? I'm a favorite to a lot of people. You'll have to put on your best James face and work the charms and get us that permission slip to enter the Restricted Section, Albus.'

Albus let's out an exasperated sigh as he rolls his eyes at James. Since everything that happened last year, some of the teachers still don't take him as serious as he hoped they would. Professor McGonagall had told the teachers everything that Scorpius and Albus had told her. They were well informed and would never let any of the two boys enter the Restricted Section. So yes, it would have to be James' face asking them for permission. He stands up from his chair, loosening up his legs. He pokes his head around one of the bookcases, looking at the table Scorpius is sat at. His blonde hear falls into his eyes and he run a hand through it to push it back again, frustrated. A deep frown on his forehead and his lips pursed as he looks at his notes. With a big sigh he lays down his quill and leans back in his chair. He rubs his eyes as he yawns. 'Did Scorpius get any sleep at all, James?' He turns back to his brother. His face rests in his hand and his eyes are closed. Albus stomps towards him, pushing his arm of the table, nearly making his head collapse into the wooden table. 'James, I asked you something. Did Scorpius get any sleep last night?'

'I don't know,' James mumbles. 'After I found him in your bed, I went downstairs and fell asleep on the couch in the common room.'

Albus balls his hands into fists as he clenches his jaw. 'You promised,' he hisses. 'You promised to make sure nothing bad happened to Scorpius. Now you're asking me to keep this quiet for even longer and you're telling me you couldn't handle one night?'

'It's not like he was in any danger when I left him upstairs. I even tucked him in!'

Albus slams his hands down on the table, attracting the attention of the librarian. He apologizes to her before looking back at James. 'You have no idea what he's been through, James. He needs me. So I need you to make sure you're there for him, especially during the nights.'

'Why?' James raises his eyebrows.

'Just-' Albus averts his eyes. 'Because I'm asking you, James. I'm begging you. If you want me to help you and keep this mess quiet, you're going to have to do this one thing for me. It's the only thing I'm asking you.'

'Alright! Okay. If that's so important to you than I will,' James says as he crosses his arms in front of his body. 'I just don't want to be put into an uncomfortable position here. I'm your brother and he is your boyfriend. It's weird.'

'Just tell him you're not feeling well. Scorpius respects me, my boundaries and what I want. He has been wanting to go public about our relationship for so long, but I wasn't ready and he respected that. He put up with me because he loves me and I love him James. I really do.' The bell that announces dinner rings. 'Let's go get some dinner now. I'll join you at the Slytherin table tonight.'

'Albus,' he grabs Albus' arm before he can leave the library. 'Just please don't stare at Scorpius the way you did at breakfast. People will start to think **I** am the one that's in love with him.'

Albus feels his face flush as he pulls his arm out of James' grasp. 'I'll try,' he mumbles, but he already knows he won't succeed.

* * *

Albus sits down at the Slytherin table which attracts some stares from other students, especially some of James' friends that sit at the Gryffindor table. Scorpius comes running in and quickly takes his place next to James. 

'Hey there, guys!' he says as he pecks James on the cheek.

His hair is a mess from continuously running his hand through it and there's nothing left of the neatly combed hair from this morning. Normally Albus would run his own hand through it, fixing it for his boyfriend. Albus' attention gets drawn away from Scorpius' face as someone's foot connects with his shin. He grunts as he finds James looking at him, a warning in his face. Albus didn't notice he had been staring at Scorpius, again.

Albus holds in his breath as he focuses on his plate throughout dinner. The sooner he can get out of the Great Hall the better. Scorpius starts talking to James about the O.W.L.'s that are coming up but the only thing Albus dares to look at are Scorpius' hands on the table, not daring to stare up at his face again. The longing he's feeling for his boyfriend, for his touch, his lips on his, his arms around him, his fingers through his hair. It's almost unbearable. It makes his chest ache and his heart heavy. He lets out a shaky breath as he looks up at James. He's trying his best to keep the conversation going with Scorpius, but Albus can see that he's struggling, but he does it anyways and he couldn't be more grateful for that. He knows James and him haven't always been close and they had grown apart really badly in the first years of Hogwarts. After all events of Fourth year, James had been there for him like no other has been. He had felt incredibly guilty for not looking out for Albus in the past years as he felt like he should have. Albus was really happy to have his brother back. He has always adored James, looked up to him. James was everything he had ever wanted to be, but now he just wanted to be **with** him. To be actual brothers that love each other and have each other's back. He finally has his big brother back. It's why he can't let James down now, no matter what. He shakes his head, trying to get rid of the longing for Scorpius. His priority right now should be finding out how to switch James and him back again, to get everything back to normal again.

'Hey James,' Scorpius' hand on his arm pulls him back into reality again. 'Oh, you're back again! I have been calling your name twice now.'

'Oh, I'm sorry,' Albus murmurs. He has no idea when his hands had started fidgeting with the napkin next to his plate but he pulls his arms back, placing his hands in his lap under the table.

'I wanted to tell you that I like your hair like this,' he says. 'It's different from how it normally is, but it suits you. Just like Albus'.' He ruffles his hand through Albus' hair. 'I'd say messy hair looks best on the Potter's for sure.'

Albus can feel his face heat up and there's no doubt in his mind that his face has turned a bright red. A kick against his shins confirms that and he shoot James a dirty look.

'Thank you Scorpius,' he says and flashes a smile Scorpius' way. 'I was getting kind of tired of the boring look I usually went for. Albus' hair has always looked better than mine so I thought, why not give it a shot and try and just go for the messy Potter look.' He smirks at James who's eyes are shooting daggers at Albus. 'It's good to hear that you like it. Just like this Gryffindor girl back when I went to the bathroom before coming for dinner. She said I should definitely wear it like this more often.'

James grabs his cup and takes a sip while his glare never leaves his little brother. Albus chuckles to himself, having too much fun with this.

'Al?' Scorpius turns back to the boy on his left, who is now spitting out his drink.

'What did you call me?' he blurts out and Albus cringes. He always corrects everyone using the shorter version of his name, especially his brother and his father.

'Al? I always call you Al,' Scorpius looks at James. In his face Albus can see the insecurities seeping through, his thoughts are probably racing, asking himself what he has done wrong and coming up with all these answers that would all be wrong. That's how Scorpius' brain works, always thinking the worst of himself.

'I think all the studying fried your brain, Albus.' Albus quickly jumps in and James raises his eyebrows at him. 'Or maybe it's just because you didn't get enough sleep? Maybe you should get an early night in tonight.'

'Yes,' James nods repeatedly. 'Yes, sorry Scorpius. It's just lack of sleep and all that studying. Ugh, the absolute worst!' Albus sighs at how overly dramatic James can be. 'As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to head back to bed already to get that early night in. A lot of work and studying tomorrow and-' his voice dies out as his eyes find a group of Gryffindors walking their way.

Albus follows his gaze and finds the group of people walking towards hem. His heart jumps and he can feel his stomach turn, a group of Gryffindors coming up to the Slytherin table ,walking up to **him** could never be a good thing.

'Hey James,' the one at the front calls out to him. Albus doesn't react, he looks at James, wondering why he isn't answering his friends. A kick under the table makes him flinch. His legs will be full of bruises with all the kicking James has done. His brother shoots him a look, nodding his friend's way.

_Of course they're coming up to him, he is still James_. The boy looks at Scorpius and his brother oppose him and back again. 'Are you coming with us?'

'Where to?' Albus asks him, a confused look on his face. James hadn't told him he'd have to go somewhere after dinner and the idea of it makes his hands twitch and his breath accelerate.

'Quidditch practice,' he gives him a weird look. 'Wednesday we decided we'd practice straight after dinner on Saturday. It's Saturday. So are you coming or what?'

'Yes!' Albus cringed at the high pitch in his voice. 'Yes! I'll be there as soon as possible. I just have to get changed and drop something off first. You go on without me.'

After a few other weird looks from the Quidditch team, they walk away. A weird noise comes out of Albus' throat as he looks back at the table. His eyes find James who looks at him with wild, panicked eyes. Albus could strangle him, right there and then, anger flaring up inside of him.

'I guess that early night in will have to wait,' James mumbles as he jumps up from the table.

* * *

'I thought you hated people calling you Al,' James said as he pulled the Quidditch jumper over Albus' head. 

'I do! I just don't particularly hate it when Scorpius calls me it,' Albus' voice is muffled from the jumper covering his face. His face reappears and his cheeks are flushed.

'You really need to stop all that blushing,' James hisses at him, looking around the dressing room. The rest of the Quidditch team was already out on the field. 'I never blush.'

'And I don't play Quidditch, James. But here we are,' he snaps at James. 'Also I don't like talking and your friends always talk a lot.'

James looks at him with a blank expression on his face. 'Albus, you're dating Scorpius Malfoy. Have you heard him talk?'

'That's different,' Albus mumbles as he reaches down to tie his shoes. 'I love listening to Scorpius talk. But your friends talk about stupid things.'

James rolls his eyes. 'Sometimes you're impossible Albus. You'll just have to get through this.'

'Can't you just put on this outfit and pretend to be yourself? They won't notice when you put on the glasses and the helmet.'

'Albus, have you seen how tiny you are? They will see right through it and then we'll be in trouble. We can't have a Slytherin join in on Gryffindor practice and hear all about our tactics. So straighten up those shoulders and go get them!'

'I think I might faint. Or throw up. Or throw up before fainting,' Albus says as he opens the door, looking out onto the Quidditch field.

'It's just practice, Albus. It's not a big deal if some things go wrong. Just think of everything I've taught you during our summers of playing Quidditch together at home. You'll be fine,' he claps Albus on the back, nearly making him tumble over to the floor.

'What did you tell, Scorpius? He knows I don't like Quidditch.'

James points up at the stands. 'I told him to go sit in the stands already, he's probably right there and we'll be watching and keeping an eye out for you.'

Albus sways back and forth. 'I need to sit down.' It's as if the world has started spinning around him. His chest tightens and he gasps for air as his knees nearly give out from under him. James lunges for him, trying to catch him as he falls down to the ground. But James' body weight is heavy on his shoulders, proving once again how small Albus is compared to his brother. He struggles to keep him up, trying to get him to one of the benches. Another pair of hands grab onto the other side of Albus and when he sits down he looks up in Scorpius' concerned eyes.

'What happened?' he can hear him ask James.

'I don't know!' James calls out in despair as Albus is still gasping for air.

Scorpius kneels down in front of Albus. His hands are shaking. He can feel sweat rolling down his face. His mind is spinning as does the world around him, except for Scorpius right in front of him. He can see his mouth moving, but there's no sound. His ears are ringing from his own panicked thoughts of having to get on a broom, pretending to be his brother. All those eyes from the Gryffindor Quidditch team on him, as James is their top player. Albus is not good at Quidditch, not at all. Scorpius and his brother watching from the stands. Two hands reach out and take his face in them. Forcing him to focus at one point, Scorpius' face.

'Look at me!' Scorpius voice rings through Albus' mind. 'Look at me and breathe. In and out,' he breathes along with Albus. 'In and out. Keep going.' Albus follows his lead, taking a deep shaky breath in and releasing it all and with every time he does that, releasing a bit of the panic rushing through his body. 'You're doing great,' he smiles at Albus and before he knows it he's crying.

'I'm sorry,' he whispers, looking up at his brother. 'I- I can't do it.'

James rushes towards his little brother, looking up at him. Tears running down his cheeks, pleading for James to please not be angry at him. James never knew just how much it scared his little brother to have to go out and perform in front of other people. He _knew_ it was difficult for him, he'd see it in the way he avoids eye contact when he has to talk to new people and the way his hands would start fidgeting. But he has never seen him as vulnerable and scared as he does now. James sits down next to him as he wraps his arms around him, pulling him in. He presses a kiss on the crown of his head as he eases into James' hug. Scorpius stands up, saying he's going to get him some water.

'It's okay. It's okay, Al. Take it easy,' James whispers into his hair and for the first time, Albus doesn't correct James for calling him 'Al'. He just tightens his arms around his big brother, finding comfort in the hug.

'Albus? I got a glass of water,' Scorpius walks inside and the brothers look up. He smiles down at them and hands Albus a glass of water. 'I went out and told the team you're not coming out. They weren't too happy about it, but that could also be because I was the one to bring them the news.' Scorpius shrugs.

Albus puts down the glass of water, scrambling to his feet and throwing his arms around Scorpius' neck. 'Thank you for helping me calm down,' Albus mumbles. Scorpius smiles as Albus lets him go again. _Thank you for being such a great friend. Thank you for being the best boyfriend he could ask for. Thank you for looking after my brother,_ that's everything what he wants to say but at the same time everything he can't say. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter to James and Albus' story. James gets to see what his little brother has to deal with on a daily base and Albus is having struggles trying to keep their secret. They'll have to deal with bullies, brotherly talks and lots of emotions but will they find the solution to their problem?

'Do you have a moment?' Scorpius looks at James as they enter the castle after leaving the Quidditch pitch. A frown on his face and his lips pressed into a thin line.

James looks at Albus, panic in his eyes, for what's to come. Albus bites his bottom lip as he shrugs, confused at what Scorpius wants to talk about. But also heartache because he should be the one Scorpius is supposed to be talking to. Albus looks from James to Scorpius and scratches his neck. 'I think I'll head back to the Gryffindor common room and see you guys tomorrow?' Scorpius looks at him, giving him a warm smile and his breath catches in his throat.

'We'll see you tomorrow,' James claps him softly on the back to get him to breathe again.

'Yes,' he mumbles. 'Yes, I will see you again tomorrow.' He turns back to Scorpius. 'Will see you tomorrow, little Malfoy.' He walks back, doing finger guns at Scorpius before turning around, cursing at himself for being an idiot.

Scorpius is smiling as he watches Albus walking away, shaking his head lightly.

'He's such a dork,' James mumbles as he closes his eyes for moment, trying to get his own face and body doing finger guns out of his head.

'He's your brother,' Scorpius says, his eyebrows raised and an amused smile around his lips.

James can't help but smile. 'Yes, he is.' There's pride in his voice as he thinks about his little brother. He had never seen Albus have a panic attack as he just had in the Quidditch dressing room. He had a newfound admiration for his brother. For the way he is coping with everything that's happened to him and how that has influenced his life. James and Albus have been growing closer to each other again, but in the past hours he had been spending in Albus' body, he might have learned more about him than in the last couple of years at Hogwarts. His little brother is a champ. He knows Albus used to look up to him, but right now James can confirm that he looks up to Albus as well. Not just because he's now in James' body and taller than him, but because he's a real fighter. He takes in a deep breath before turning back to Scorpius, who had been watching him all this time. 'What did you want to talk to me about?'

'What's going on?' he asks, a simple question but it makes James' heart beat faster.

James frowns and starts to walk further down the hall. 'I don't know what you're talking about, Scorpius.'

Scorpius quickly follows him and grabs his arm. He pulls him to the side, cornering him. Literally cornering him, James is stuck in the corner of the hallway, Scorpius blocking him. His arms crossed, expression serious and nowhere for James to go. 'What's going on? You have never gone so long without begging for me to kiss you or show you any kind of affection.'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' James smiles awkwardly. 'I'm a tough guy.'

'No, you're not Albus. You're like a baby,' Scorpius says, his eyes squinting at him. 'Because if I say no, you won't stop whining until I give you the slightest bit of affection.'

It takes everything in James to keep a smile off his face. To the outside world Albus is always so distant and closed off. Whenever James or any other family member would try to show him any kind of affection, he'd shy away from it. Shrugging off their hands on his shoulder, ducking out of hugs. There was always so much anger balled up inside of his tiny body and, experiencing what it's like in this body, James has no idea how that much anger can fit inside of it. How he's able to hold all of that anger in, inside of his small body. James steps forward, Scorpius following his every move and awkwardly puts a hand on the tall blonde boy's shoulder. Patting it.

'I'm just not feeling really well,' he says, faking a cough. 'I'm sorry if I seem distant. I don't want you to catch whatever I'm coming down with.' He stands up on his tiptoes and gives Scorpius' cheek a quick peck. 'I promise everything will be back to normal soon and then you'll have this tiny baby beg you for kisses and affection again. '

James wants to sneak past Scorpius, but he grabs hold of his hand, turning him back to him. He opens his mouth, wanting to say something when he gets interrupted.

'Oh! Look at the two snake boyfriends!' a voice calls out.

Scorpius' body goes rigid at the taunting sound of the voice. He looks at James, his eyes wide and the grip on his hand grows stronger. James looks behind him, finding the group of Gryffindor students approaching them.

'If it isn't the son of the savior and the son of the dark loooord!' the girl sings as they halt in front of the two boys.

'What are you huddling together for, so late at night? Did we ruin a romantic moment?'

'Or are you thinking of a new brilliant plan to ruin our school?' 

Scorpius flinches when one of the Gryffindors claps him on the back. Shrinking into himself, moving closer to James. 'Or are you maaaybe planning how you can step into your daddy's footsteps?'

'Knock it off!' James' voice booms when he steps in front of Scorpius. 'Leave him alone.'

'What are you going to do about it?'

One of the boys he recognizes from the classes he takes, comes up to him. Trevor Lockwood. Looking up at Trevor and at how tall he is, James can see just how vulnerable Albus must be. How easy of a target other students might see him as. _His_ little brother. 'If you don't back off now, I will hex your ass so badly that you can't sit on it for a month,' he hisses between his clenched jaw. His free hand around his wand, ready to hit the Gryffindor boy around his ears with some advanced charms. He can feel his whole body shaking with anger as he looks up at the boy in front of him and his housemates behind him, laughing and giggling at the two Slytherin boys.

'Bring it on, little Slytherin boy.'

The boy pushes James back. He stumbles into Scorpius, who quickly catches him. James grabs his wand and points it at the boy.

'Don't do it,' Scorpius whispers at him, his arms still around Albus' chest. 'Don't do it, please, don't.'

'Scorpius,' James says, his voice stern and he can feel Scorpius flinch. 'Let go of me.'

'Yes, baby Voldemort. Let him go, so I can show him some proper dueling. Finally teach him a little lesson,' Trevor says, a smug smile on his face.

A smile that James' gladly wipe away. Baby Voldemort. Even though the rumors have been debunked and everyone knows the truth about _her_ being the real child of Voldemort, they still taunt Scorpius with it. A teenager who just wants to enjoy his time at Hogwarts and learn as much as possible. It's unnecessary and unfair. He manages to break free from Scorpius' arms and jumps at Trevor. He ducks away from James and he falls to the ground. He grunts as he looks up again, Trevor has his wand pointed at his face. Scorpius calls Albus' name.

'Haven't you learned from the last time we met?' Trevor snaps at him. 'Don't you remember what happened when you _tried_ to take me on?'

Does that mean Trevor has bullied Albus and Scorpius before? And what exactly had this boy done to his little brother? James looks past Scorpius. His hands are shaking, his eyes are wild, tears glistening in them as he looks at the wand pointed at Albus. As much as he'd love to kick Trevor's ass, he knows Albus would want him to make Scorpius his priority, to make sure he's safe.

'Students! Make your way to the common rooms now. Curfew is almost starting!' Professor Longbottom walks into the hallway and all the students look up at him. 'Hurry along now!'

The Gryffindors give the other two one last look before they walk away. Leaving Scorpius, James and professor Longbottom. His eyes searching the boys for any injuries. James scrambles up from the floor, dusting off his robes from the dirt. Quickly walking towards Scorpius, reaching for his hand again as he gently squeezes it.

'Are you two alright?' professor Longbottom asks.

James tears away his glare from the student's backs, disappearing around the corner. He nods. 'Yes, we are. Thank you, professor Longbottom. We'll be heading to our own common room now.'

'If there's anything I can help you with. Just let me know, okay?' James nods again and professor Longbottom walks away.

James can feel his face heating up as he clenches his jaw. Furious at how the group of Gryffindors, and with them probably more students, dare to speak to his little brother and Scorpius. He looks back at Scorpius, who has been quiet all this time. His face is pale, even more pale than he normally looks. He looks broken, sad, hurt, scared. In this moment James realizes just why Albus must carry this much anger around when he's at Hogwarts. Knowing how awful the students are to them. He knows Albus is probably not even that angry about the fact it's happening to _him_. But knowing they're this cruel to his boyfriend and having to see Scorpius like this, that must be one of the worst feelings in the world. He wants to look out for Scorpius, make sure he's safe and _feels_ safe. But he can't protect him from the rude and hurtful words that are being thrown at him by other Hogwarts students and that must be extremely upsetting. He gently squeezes Scorpius hand again, trying to catch his attention. The blonde looks up, into his eyes, the hurt clearly there. James curses the group of students before he pulls Scorpius in. Wrapping his arms around the boy in front of him, holding him as close as possible.

'It's going to be okay,' he whispers as he gently strokes his hair. 'You're going to be okay.'

* * *

James walks up the dormitory stairs, to the Slytherin dorm rooms. He had been studying for his N.E.W.T.'s way past midnight, trying to get as much as possible inside of his brain. Scorpius had told him he would go to bed about two hours ago, that he should not stay up too long, that he needs his rest. Scorpius' love for his brother warms his heart. He's happy his little brother has found someone that cares so much for him as Scorpius does. Someone that is not scared to show it to him over and over again. He smiles at himself as he enters the dorm, but the smile fades away quickly as he hears muffled noises coming from Scorpius' bed, almost like sobs. He walks up to him, his hands trying to find the opening to the curtains as a muffled cry for help rings through the night air. James opens the curtains when he finds the opening. Scorpius is tangled up in his blankets, panicking, trying to find his way out as tears run down his face.

'Hey, hey!' James calls to him, helping him free his legs out of the blanket. 'Hey, you're okay!'

Scorpius looks up at him, his eyes wide open and bloodshot from exhaustion and crying. James sits down on the bed, pulling him in his arms. Swinging the blonde boy back and forth as he softly strokes his hair, telling him it's okay. That's he's safe, that's he's with him.

_'You have no idea what he's been through, James. He needs me. So I need you to make sure you're there for him, especially during the nights.'_ Albus voice rings through his mind. This has to be the reason Albus begged him to look out for Scorpius. The nightmares were probably something Scorpius has been fighting through ever since the situation with Voldemort's daughter. James can't bring himself to speak her name, not even in his mind. He can't help but flinch every time someone says her name. It's almost like what people in the past had when someone mentioned Voldemort's name. He won't admit it to anyone else, but he knows his worst fear. He knows his worst fear is _her_. For everything she has done. To Craig Bowker Jr., to the Malfoy's, to his family, _to his little brother_. He can't help but wonder how many times this happens at night and if this happens to Albus as well. He can't get the image of it out of his head. His brother tossing and turning in his bed, waking up bathing in his own sweat. Not knowing where he is, his heart pounding, calling out for help. And James not being there to help him calm down, makes him feel even worse. He takes in a shaky breath as he rests his head on Scorpius' head. The bullying, the nightmares. These two boys have been to hell and back, but he wonders if they feel like they have escaped hell or if they're still stuck in their own hell. 

* * *

'Hey,' James greets Albus softly, trying not to startle him as he approaches him. 

Albus is sitting against a tree next to the lake. Cross legged with a Potions book in his lap. Probably still trying to figure out a solution. He looks up at his brother, giving him a small smile. James sits down next to Albus and for a few minutes they just sit in silence.

'I'm sorry that at first I didn't listen to you when you asked me to look out for Scorpius. I understand that you got upset with me for not staying with him for the night. It was the only thing you asked of me and I should have listened to you right away,' James breaks the silence.

Albus looks up from the book. 'Did he have another nightmare?' his voice is barely a whisper.

'He did. I was reading for my N.E.W.T.'s before I returned to the dorm. He was crying out for help, fighting to get out of his blanket. I helped him, don't worry. I held him until he fell right back asleep and stayed there with him. I barely got any sleep after that,' he says and Albus flinches next to him. He doesn't have to ask why, he knows Albus feels guilty for not being there for Scorpius to be the one to calm him down. 'I also wanted to talk to you about something else that happened. We ran into some Gryffindor students yesterday, including Trevor.'

He can hear Albus taking in a deep breath as he hugs his knees to his chest. 'He said some horrible things. Not just to Scorpius, but also to me - well actually you. When I stood up to him he asked me if I hadn't learned from what happened last time you did that. Has he bullied you before?'

Albus nods and avoids every eye contact with James, looking out over the lake.

'Al, why haven't you told me? I could have helped you,' James voice is soft, pleading to his brother to talk to him.

'I don't mind the bullying when it comes to myself. I have learned to brush it off for the most part. The only thing that gets to me is how they bully Scorpius. Scorpius deserves the world and I wish I could give that to him. I wish I could protect him from everyone around, but I can't and that hurts. So I do whatever I can to help him. I talk him down from his anxiety attacks, try to distract him when he's in stuck in his own mind, lost in his own thoughts. When he has a nightmare, I hold him until he's calmed down so he can fall asleep. It's why we spend the nights next to each other. To feel safe. The past years have changed everything. For Scorpius and for me, as well. Everything is different from the first time I got onto the Hogwarts Express. It's been tough but I'm trying to find a way to deal with it. It takes time but I'm getting there. Scorpius has been my anchor through it all, he keeps me grounded, pulls me back whenever I have a panic attack, like in the Quidditch dressing room.'

'Have you had many of those?'

Albus nods again. 'Yes. Last year was particularly bad. So far this year I've only had two, so I guess that's progress.' He flashes a smile.

'And the nightmares?' James turns towards his brother. 'Do you have nightmares?'

The smile disappears from Albus' face and he looks down at his knees. 'I do,' he whispers.

'Can I ask you what they're about?'

Albus swallows the lump forming in his throat. Hesitant to tell his brother about his nightmares. So far he had only told Scorpius about them. 'Most of the time they're about Craig's death,' he whispers and winces as Craig's empty eyes staring up to him flash through his mind. 'I see the green flash from her wand hitting him in the chest. I see his eyes, looking up at me, his empty eyes. I see the Thestrals now, you know that?' James cringes, remembering the joke he made to Albus about the Thestrals.

'I'm sorry, Albus. I never should have joked about that,' James softly whispers, wringing his hands together.

'It's alright,' Albus briefly looks at James to give him a reassuring smile, softly nudging him with his shoulder. 'It's alright. I think they're quite beautiful. They're not as scary as they make them out to be. There's worse things..' his voice drifts away before shaking his head, trying to keep himself from getting lost in his thoughts. 'If it's not Craig's death, I see Scorpius gasping for air as she tortured him with the Cruciatus Curse. I hear Scorpius' screams for help, his pleads for her to stop.' Albus closes his eyes, pressing his fists against his eyes, trying to get rid of the images he's seeing. Shrinking into himself as he thinks of Scorpius being tortured.

James takes in a shaky breath as he quickly moves towards his little brother. He wraps his arms around him as he pulls him in. Albus lets his brother pull him close as the horror of last year fills his mind. Finding comfort in his embrace.

'I see her casting the Killing Curse at me, before dad pushed me away. I see Voldemort entering our grandparents house, I hear dad's agonizing scream as we had to watch that monster kill his parents.'

His parents had told James about his grandparents, as soon as they came back and James had pestered them with questions, demanding to know what had happened to them and his little brother. At first they didn't want to tell him, they said they wanted to protect him. But he wouldn't stand for that. He had to know. But what he didn't know was that she had tortured Scorpius, with the Cruciatus Curse, that Albus had to watch her torture his best friend and had to watch another student get killed. He didn't know that she had tried to kill Albus, that if it wasn't for his father pushing him away, he probably would have died. Albus buries his face in his brother's shoulder as he softly cries.

'You're safe now,' James whispers in his hair and he presses a kiss to the crown of his head. 'You're safe and she can't get to you or Scorpius anymore. I'm here for you, Al. I'll always be here for you.'

* * *

'Let's go figure this mess out right after lunch. You need to eat something. You need to feed those muscles and those bags under my eyes are not a good look,' James says as the brothers enter the castle to head to the Great Hall for lunch.

Albus laughs when James pinches his cheek, swatting his hand away. He reaches out to give him a punch in the arm but stumbles back as he bumps into someone.

'Oh! I'm so sorry,' Scorpius grabs Albus' arm to keep him from tumbling to the ground. 'I didn't see you there!' He gives Albus a cheeky wink.

'It's okay,' Albus mumbles under his breath, trying to keep his heartbeat steady and his face from fully flushing. 'Let's just go get some lunch.' He quickly walks away, avoiding every contact with Scorpius as he walks past him to get into the Great Hall.

He grunts as Scorpius sits down next to him, suddenly extremely aware of the presence of the boy next to him. All his senses seem heightened. The smell of Scorpius' cologne prickling in his nose, the sound of Scorpius' voice ringing in his ears, the sound of his laughter giving Albus goose bumps. Albus feels a hand brush .... his upper leg, he looks up at Scorpius putting his hands on the table again. A small smile on his lips as he grabs his cup of tea and takes a sip from it. Albus can feel his cheeks flush and the place where Scorpius' hand had touched him burning. He bites the insides of his cheeks, trying to keep himself from reaching out for Scorpius. The urge growing and growing with every second he spends next to the tall, blonde boy his heart yearns for. The bumping in to him, the winking and now his hand brushing his upper leg. He jumps up from the table, nearly knocking over his cup of coffee. 

James looks up, startled at Albus' sudden movement. He searches his brother's face, searching for any sign of panic or distraught. 'Are you okay? What's wrong?'

'Albus?' Albus' voice is high pitched as he looks at his brother oppose him. 'Can I speak to you? NOW?'

James nods as he puts down his cup of milk and follows Albus out of the Great Hall. Albus pulls him to the side, looking down at him. Cheeks flushed, eyes wide open and body tense. His jaw is clenched as he's bouncing up and down, trying to get the tension to leave his body, but it's not working. 'I can't do this anymore. I can't sit next to Scorpius, have him touch me and not want to throw myself at him. I don't want to do this anymore. He needs to know and I'm going to tell him!' Albus blurts out and he wants to turn around to walk back into the Great Hall.

James quickly catches his arm, pulling him back. 'Albus, I know it's hard, but we'll fix this. We said we'd keep it a secret.'

'No, you _asked_ me to keep it a secret, more than once. James, please. I know Scorpius can help us,' Albus' eyes are pleading when he looks back at his brother. 

'Hey James, are you okay?' Scorpius hand on Albus' shoulder startles him and he flinches away from him.

'I can't do this anymore,' Albus hisses at his brother. 'I can't.'

James looks at Scorpius before looking back at Albus. 'Come on-'

'No!' Albus calls out. 'Tell him or I will!'

'Can we just-'

'Tell him!'

'Do you want him to tell me that you somehow managed to switch bodies?' Scorpius asks.

Both Potter brothers look up at him, confused. Albus' mouth is wide open and James' body has gone rigid.

'How?' 'What?' 'Why?' 'How long?' A flurry of words and questions escape from Albus and James' mouths, speaking at the same time. Scorpius looks back and forth between the brothers before he throws his hands up, telling the boys to be quiet.

'I figured it out a while ago,' Scorpius explains.

'You knew?' Albus whispers, his hands around his boyfriend's arms now. 'How long have you known already?'

'Before we continue this conversation and before you get all touchy and feely with each other, can we please just go some place where other people can't hear us?' James mumbles as he looks at the passing students. He pulls Albus away from Scorpius. 'And where they can't see Scorpius and _me_ hugging and touching.'

Scorpius chuckles as Albus lets out an exasperated sigh at the fact that he needs to hold in the urge to throw himself at his boyfriend. He opens his mouth to tell James off, but they get interrupted by someone calling their names. Lily comes walking their way, a bright smile on her lips as she gives all three of the boys a hug.

'Hey Lil,' Scorpius greets her, kissing the crown of her head. She smiles at him before looking at her brothers, her arm still around Scorpius' waist.

'I need some help,' she says. 'Albus, can you help me with Potion in the upcoming week? I'm struggling really badly and our teacher is no help, at all.'

James nods. 'Yes, of course. I'll help you. Just let me-'

Lily glares at him. 'Not you, James. I'm asking Albus. The real Albus.' She points at Albus, who's looking at her with wide eyes.

'You know as well?' he asks her, his voice way too high. He clears his throat. 'You know as well?'

'I'm sure I knew before Scorpius even had his suspicions. I'm your little sister,' she rolls her eyes at the shocked look on her brother's faces. 'I have spend all my years having to look at your faces and observing every one of your movements so I knew how to not behave and act to safe myself from looking like an idiot. Thereby you two are the _worst_ actors and I'm not _stupid_. Just fix this before it gets out of hand or I will have to tell mom and dad.'

James and Albus look at her with narrowed eyes. She flashes them a last smile before she walks into the Great Hall to join her friends.

'We'll go up to our dorms. None of the other boys will be there as I've seen them studying in the library. Just stay in between James and me and we won't be attracting that much attention,' Scorpius says before he quietly adds. 'Hopefully.'

When they enter the Dungeons, James takes off the Slytherin robes. He wraps them around his brother's shoulders and pulls the hood over his head. Albus quickly follows both boys into the Slytherin, not looking up once as they enter it. His eyes focused on Scorpius' shoes in front of him, following his every move, trying to keep himself from reaching forward and taking his hand. He holds onto Scorpius' robe as they finally make their way to their dorm. Scorpius closes the door behind the two Potter brothers.

'I don't think-' he gets cut off by Albus jumping onto him.

He throws his arms around Scorpius' neck, holding him as close as possible. Burying his face in his boyfriend's neck.

'We will have to do this changing you back really quickly,' Scorpius says, his voice sounding amused. 'I don't like you being the same height as me.'

Albus feels a pair of hands on his arms before he is being pulled away from Scorpius. James wraps his arms around Scorpius' waist as he gives Albus a smug smile.

'That's better!' Scorpius says as he rests his head on James' head. 'Just the right height if you ask me.'

Albus huffs. He crosses his arms in front of his chest as he looks at his brother and his boyfriend. 'You really think this is amusing, do you?' He grabs James' arm and he pulls him away from Scorpius. He balls his hands into fists and starts pounding on his brother's arm. 'I don't!'

Scorpius looks from James to Albus, slightly weirded out by the whole situation. 'Alright, enough!' he calls to the brothers as they tumble to the ground. He grabs James' arms and pulls him up. 'Enough, you two. This is not the playground.'

Albus scrambles to his feet as he takes off the Slytherin robe, throwing it on Scorpius' bed. He lets himself fall onto his own bed, sighing when his back hits his own mattress.

'So much better than those beds in the Gryffindor dorms,' he mumbles.

'I'm pretty sure that they're exactly the same, Albus. You are being overly dramatic.'

'Says you,' Albus sticks out his tongue to his brothers and he reaches both his hands towards Scorpius, pleading for him to come closer. He pulls him down at his collar, but before he can do anything Scorpius gets pulled away.

'No,' James says. 'No way. Not with my body you're not! No kissing until we have changed back into our own bodies.' He takes place across his brother as he gestures to him that he's keeping his eyes on him.

Scorpius sits down on his own bed and Albus pouts at him. The blonde boy gives him a smirk and Albus groans. He lets himself slip off his bed and joins Scorpius on his. His boyfriend wraps him in his arms as he leans into Scorpius.

'It's incredibly weird to see myself cuddle up to Scorpius Malfoy,' he mumbles, giving the boys a weird look. He straightens his back. 'Okay love-birds, we need to find a solution to this problem. What-'

He freezes as the door opens and one of their dorm mates walks in. He looks at James before he looks at Albus and Scorpius all cuddled up. He gives them a weird look before turning around.

'This is none of my business,' the boy mumbles before he closes the door again.

'Scorpius, I thought you said you had seen them study in the library,' James looks at him with narrowed eyes. Scorpius shrug and the older Potter sibling shakes his head, letting out a big sigh. 'Alright so, how did you find out?'

'You both had been acting so weird. I mean, James started blushing at nearly everything I did, though I found it endearing, it kind of freaked me out at one point. Also Albus has this thing that whenever he gets nervous or uncomfortable that he starts fidgeting with his hands or he keeps running a hand through his hair, messing it up all of the time. I could see all of that whenever someone started talking to him, like with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But when I went down to the Quidditch dressing room, to see what was taking you both so long and saw James having a panic attack, when I helped calm him down and he looked in my eyes. I just knew then that I wasn't actually looking at you but at Albus,' he looks at Albus who smiles up to him from his arms. 

'Wait,' James starts thinking to himself for a while before he looks at Scorpius again. 'That was yesterday, you already knew then?'

Scorpius nods. 'Yes, I did. I just wanted to mess with you a bit. Honestly seeing Albus get all flustered every time I touched him or smiled at him, trying his best to keep his composure and best James Potter face on was priceless.' He smirks at Albus and then looks at James. 'And you trying to avoid me and any kind of affection between us was kind of funny as well. I had some fun.'

Both Potter brothers look at Scorpius in disbelief.

'Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy,' Albus says as he sits up straight, crossing his legs as he looks at his boyfriend. 'You are the absolute worst! Look at you just sitting there smirking at me! Since when are you the joker of the three of us? Do you have any idea how much you have tortured me?'

'I'm sorry, Al. I just couldn't let this opportunity slip,' he leans forward with his hands resting on Albus' thighs. 'Will you forgive me?'

'Do you have any idea how hard you made it for me to not kiss your stupid face right there and then. Do you have any idea how hard you're making it for me to not do that right now?' he whispers. He looks down at Scorpius' hands before he looks up at his face again. The tension between them rising, Albus can feel his face heat up and his heart pounding in his chest. 

'NO KISSING!' James yells.

Albus manages to look away from Scorpius' gaze and gives his brother a dirty look. 'We need to fix this,' he hisses as he jumps off the bed. 'Right. Now.'

'Maybe you need to go outside for a minute, young mister. You're bright red and it looks like you could use some fresh air,' James fixes him with a stern look.

'I'm fine, James! Thank you!' he groans as he avoids every eye contact with Scorpius, who is doing his best to hold in his laughter. 'What do we do? How do we reverse-' Albus stops mid-pacing, his eyes and mouth wide open. 'Of course! OF COURSE!'

Scorpius and James look at each other, waiting for Albus to explain himself.

'Reverse. James! REVERSE!' Albus grabs his shoulders and starts shaking his brother. 'We need to reverse the potion. Why haven't we thought of that yet? There probably isn't any potion that will solve this but maybe we can try to reverse all the steps. Maybe that's our solution.' 

* * *

Both boys watch in silence as Albus works on the potion. He had told them both to sit down and do absolutely nothing, especially James. He will not let his brother get anywhere near this potion, not after what happened last time they were brewing a potion together. Albus reaches for his wand when James moves, wanting to stand up from his stool. 

'Don't you dare, James Sirius Potter. I **will** use this to knock you out if you take a step near me,' Albus says, his eyes never leaving the liquid potion in the cauldron.

James sighs as he lays his arms on the table, resting his head in it. 'I just want to stretch my legs.'

'My legs aren't that long, you can perfectly stretch them from that stool. I'm not even sure if I reach the ground if you do that,' Albus says as he drops another ingredient in the potion.

Scorpius chuckles at the annoyance in James' face and he sticks out his tongue to the blonde boy.

James had been dozing off when someone kicks his stool.

'The potion is done,' Albus says as he puts two cups down on the table.

'Are you sure this is going to work?'

'Are you scared, James Sirius Potter?' Albus does his best imitation of James, repeating what he said to Albus when they were brewing their first potion. 'Is James Sirius Potter scared of drinking a little potion?'

James huffs as he narrows his eyes, looking at Albus. 'I'm not scared of anything.' He looks around, finding Scorpius standing right behind him. He puts a hand on Scorpius' shoulder as he looks up at him, his face serious and a frown on his face. 'We need to talk,' he clears his throat. 'I don't think it's going to work between you and me. It's not me, it's you and I'm sorry but I think it's best if we break up.'

Scorpius shakes his head at James. 'I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry,' he says before he starts laughing. His face grows more serious when Albus walks up to him. 'Please don't even break up with me.'

Albus gives him a kiss on his cheek as James looks at him with his mouth wide open.

'I said no kisses!' James calls out as he tackles Albus to the ground. He starts to softly punch his brother in the arm and the chest as Albus giggles from underneath him. Pushing him off of him.

'Unnecessary James!' he puts on his best impression of his father as he points his finger at James. 'Let's drink that potion and hope to god that it works because I'm so ready to be myself again.'

The brothers look at each other and hold up their cups before downing the entire potion. Albus burps as he covers his hand with his mouth. James doubles over.

'I forgot about this part,' Albus whimpers as he can see his vision starting to blur. He can feel someone catch him as he falls to the ground, but then everything turns black.

Albus opens his eyes, he can feel someone softly brushing his cheek and Scorpius' face appears. His head is laying in the blonde boy's lap.

'Al, are you okay?' he whispers, his eyebrows are furrowed and Albus can see the worry in his eyes.

'Did it work?' Albus' voice is hoarse, but it's his voice. It's _his_ voice. He holds his hands up, looking at them. When he looks down he can see his Slytherin robes. His green Slytherin robes. He looks back up at Scorpius. 'Am I me again?'

A smile appears on Scorpius' face as he nods his head. Albus scrambles to his hands and knees, out of Scorpius' lap before he throws himself at his boyfriend. He takes Scorpius' face between his hands and eagerly presses his lips against his. Scorpius tumbles backwards from the force Albus kisses him with. He lets out a surprised noise and Albus breaks their connection for a moment.

'I'm sorry,' he says. He sits up straight, his hands resting on Scorpius' chest as they look at each other for a moment.

'That's enough of that,' Scorpius mumbles as he sits up, pulling Albus into him. Their lips connecting again into an intimate kiss, one that Albus has been craving for the past days. One that leaves him breathless, but wanting more. One that he will probably never get used to, but will never get enough of.

'I'm guessing the potion has worked,' James' voice sounds from behind the boys.

Albus freezes, his lips inches away from Scorpius' and his shocked eyes looking into his boyfriend's. Scorpius chuckles softly at the horror in Albus' eyes. 'Is it too late to knock him out?' Albus whispers.

'I can hear you, Albus.'

Albus looks at James sitting on the floor, cross legged and his arms crossed in front of his chest. He awkwardly climbs off of Scorpius' lap.

'The potion worked,' Scorpius says as he stands up from the floor, extending his hand to Albus.

Albus takes his hand with a bright smile and wraps his arm around Scorpius' waist as soon as he's standing. Trying to be as close to his boyfriend as if he's trying to make up for lost time. Time he didn't get to spend loving Scorpius the way he deserves to be loved. James scrambles up from the floor as he walks towards the first object that shows his reflection. He grins as he turns back to the other two again, gesturing for his brother to come over. Albus lets go of Scorpius as he goes to stand next to James.

James smiles as he looks down at his little brother. 'My little brother,' he says as his smile broadens. 'You know I love you, right?'

'Of course you love me. I mean I've been looking at my own face for the past two days now and even I was starting to love myself,' Albus says as he smirks at James.

'Just because you spend two days trying to be me doesn't mean you can act an ass like me,' James says as he ruffles up Albus' hair. 'Come here, you tiny baby.' He pulls Albus in, wrapping his arms around his little brother's shoulders. He rests his head on top of Albus' head. 'I like hugging you like this way more,' he looks up at Scorpius. 'I understand what you mean now.'

Albus giggles before he looks up at his brothers with a smile that mirrors James'. 'I love you too, James. More than you probably now.'

James presses a kiss to the crown of Albus' head. 'Well, it was nice spending these two days with you. But I feel like I need a little break, have been looking at your face for way too long now. It's time to go back to my dorm and admire my own for a while, trying to fix the mess you have made of my hair.'

Albus rolls his eyes as he lets go of his big brother, stepping back to Scorpius. The blonde boy wraps an arm around his shoulders and he looks up at him. He scrunches his nose as he sighs. 'I really am small,' he mumbles. Scorpius chuckles and presses a kiss to his temple.

'You two look out for each other, okay?' James walks over to both of them, pulling them into a hug. 'If you need any help with those damn bullies, just let me know and I will learn you some advanced hexes that you can use on them.' He smiles at both of them before turning around. 'Hey Scorpius,' James stops in the opening of the door as he turns back to the other two boys. 'If you ever need a cuddle from another Potter or someone your own height, basically just anyone that's not Albus, you know where to find me.' He winks at Scorpius before he ducks out of the way from the cup Albus throws his way. He quickly disappears through the door and closes it behind him.

Albus turns towards Scorpius, his cheeks slightly pink. 'Are you blushing?!' he asks indignantly, his eyes wide.

Scorpius laughs as he reaches for Albus' hand. 'Come on, you idiot. Let's get back to the dorm.' 

* * *

Albus yawns as he walks into the dorm, drying his wet hair with a towel. 'You have no idea how good it feels to be able to shower with my eyes open,' Albus grumbles. He hangs the towel over the chair next to his bed and looks down at Scorpius who is looking up at him from Albus' bed. He's frowning, his expression serious. 'What's wrong? Are you okay?'

Scorpius sits up, his legs over the edge of the bed as he reaches out both hands for Albus. Albus gently takes them and Scorpius pulls him towards him. His arms around Albus' waist, pressing his face into his chest. Albus smiles down at his boyfriend while softly stroking his blonde hair, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. Scorpius looks up again, pouting at Albus.

'Kiss me?' he whispers and Albus chuckles as he cups Scorpius' face with his hands. He leans down and lightly presses his lips to his boyfriend's before pulling back again. Scorpius moans as he opens his eyes again, looking at Albus before pulling him onto the bed.

Albus giggles as he lands on top of Scorpius, burying his face in his neck. The feeling of Albus' giggles and his warm breath against the bare skin of his neck gives Scorpius goose bumps. He straddles Scorpius body as he presses light kisses from his neck, to his cheek, hovering over his lips.

'Why are you doing this?' Scorpius groans, his eyes looking into Albus' brown eyes.

'I'm afraid that when I kiss you, I won't be able to stop.'

Scorpius lets his fingers roam over Albus' face. His cheeks are flushed and his eyes are open wide, full of desire as he looks down at his boyfriend. He grabs Albus' collar, pulling him down and their lips connect. Albus let out a surprised noise against his lips, before leaning into the kiss. The heat rises in Scorpius' cheeks as their kiss grows more intimate. His fingers tracing small figures on the bare skin of Albus' back.

'I. Missed. You. So. Much,' Albus mumbles, pressing kisses to Scorpius' lips between every word he speaks before pulling back to look down at his boyfriend again. His fingers running through his soft blonde hair, loving the feeling of it between his fingers, before tracing the side of his face, down to his jaw. He brushes his thumbs across his cheekbones as he hold his breath for a while. Albus marvels at the spark in his eyes, as if someone decided to gather all the stars of the night sky and put them into Scorpius' eyes. And they were shining, shining for Albus and only Albus. He can spend hours just looking into those eyes. The beauty of his face, his nose, _his lips._ His lips that are formed into the brightest and most beautiful smile Albus might have ever seen in his life. 'You're so beautiful,' he whispers.

'You know,' Scorpius says, a mischievous grin spreading across his face now. 'I used to think James was pretty hot and then I got to date him. I can't believe I actually got to date two of the Potter brothers. How crazily fortunate is that?'

Albus gasps and he punches a laughing Scorpius in his shoulder. He crosses his arms in front of him and looks down at him, pouting. Scorpius forces himself up, his eyes at the same level as Albus now.

'But you're still my favorite Potter. James' hair just doesn't do it for me,' he says as he lets his hands run though Albus' wet, messy hair. 'I just love your messy hair way too much,' he whispers in Albus' ear as he nuzzles his face in the crook of Albus' neck. Albus giggles as Scorpius wraps his arms around his waist, pulling him closer. 'I missed you too and you have no idea how happy I am to have my favorite Potter back. All to myself.'

Albus pushes Scorpius back so he can look into his eyes again. He lets out another soft giggle before their lips find their way back to each other again. 


End file.
